Posted: July 15, 2005

Masters Sports: Sydney, Australia To Host 2009 World Masters Games

Organizers Aspire To Build On The Edmonton Momentum And Draw Triple The Number Of Sydney 2000 Olympic Games Participants

Sydney, NSW: Edmonton, the City of Champions, is set to welcome a record 23,000 athletes and supporters to the World Masters Games this month. A special delegation from Sydney will be among them.

Their purpose: invite Edmonton participants to the 2009 World Masters Games in sports-crazy Sydney, where they can compete in world-class venues and follow in the steps of Olympians.

Held every four years, the World Masters Games has grown to become one of the world's biggest international sporting events. The Sydney 2009 World Masters Games, October 10-18, will benefit from the facilities built and used in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Sydney Olympic Park will be the central location for the Games.

Building on the Edmonton successes, the 2009 Games are expected to attract 30,000 interstate and overseas competitors and inject up to $60 million into the New South Wales economy. Of this total, 12,000 participants are expected from overseas and 10,000 from interstate

2009worldmasters.com is a new website packed with information about the Sydney 2009 World Masters Games and the extraordinary travel opportunities Down Under -- the beautiful beaches, rainforests, wineries and the outback of New South Wales.

The Sydney delegation is led by Bob Adby, Director-General of the New South Wales Department of Tourism, Sport & Recreation and Margy Osmond, Chair of the Steering Committee for the 2009 World Masters Games.

"These Games promote lifelong competition, friendship and understanding between people in the world of sport, regardless of their background or skill level," says Adby. "The anticipated success of Edmonton in 2005 paired with the selection of Sydney as the host city for 2009 adds prestige and power to the international Masters sports movement."

"Edmonton has a long and strong sporting tradition, a vibrant cultural scene and has adopted a progressive approach in planning this event," says Osmond. "We hope to pair what we learn from the Edmonton example with Sydney's international event expertise to deliver an event of excellence for competitors from around the world."

For more information about registration and travel to New South Wales visit 2009worldmasters.com.

World Masters Games History
The World Masters Games are the largest multi-sport, multi-cultural, mass participation event on the international sporting calendar. The Games were first staged in 1985 in Toronto, Canada with 8,305 participants in 22 sports.
Subsequent World Masters Games have been:
1989 Herning / Aalborg / Aarhus in Denmark (5,500 participants in 37 sports)
1994 Brisbane (24,500 participants in 30 sports)
1998 Portland, USA (11,400 participants in 28 sports)
2002 Melbourne (24,886 participants in 26 sports)
2005 Edmonton (23,000 participants in 27 sports)

World Masters Games Aim
The central philosophy of the Games is "sport for life." The Games aim to motivate a "goal oriented and long-term approach towards sport and physical fitness" and "acknowledge that competitive sport may continue throughout life."

World Masters Participants
The term "master" is simply an age designation and does not denote a level of sports proficiency or a particular sports achievement. The qualifying minimum age to be a Masters participant varies from 30-35 years. There is no upper age limit.[nh4] The Games include people of all sports proficiencies and skills, from Olympians and former world champions to sports men and women wanting to achieve a personal best or simply compete with their peers. The Games are open to anyone with participants competing as individuals and not in national teams. There are no qualification or selection criteria to compete at the Games.
The only entry requirement is that competitors satisfy the minimum age for competition specified in the technical rules of respective international sports federations. For most sports, the minimum age is 30-35 years and there is no upper age limit. Though past Games have featured competitors over age 90, the largest group competing is between ages 35 and 50.

Sydney's Bid
On 13 June 2004, the International Masters Games Association announced Sydney as the successful bid city for the 2009 World Masters Games. Sydney's competitors were Copenhagen and Shiga Prefecture (Japan). Sydney's bid was an initiative of and co-ordinated by the New South Wales Major Events Board.

The Sports
There will be a maximum 27 sports on the Games program in Sydney, comprising 17 core sports and up to 10 optional sports. The core sports are athletics, archery, badminton, basketball, canoe-kayak, cycling, football (soccer), golf, orienteering, rowing, shooting, squash, swimming, table tennis, tennis, triathlon and weightlifting. Sydney's bid book proposed baseball, dancesport, hockey, martial arts, netball, softball, surf lifesaving, surfing and volleyball as optional sports. The final list of optional sports must be submitted to the IMGA for approval by December 31, 2005.

The Venues
The Games competition will use most of the major Olympic legacy facilities with the main sports hub at Sydney Olympic Park. Other Olympic venues proposed to be used include the Sydney International Regatta Centre, Blacktown Olympic Park, the Dunc Gray Velodrome, the Ryde Aquatic Leisure Centre and the Sydney International Shooting Centre. The Games will also use soccer fields, baseball and softball diamonds, squash centres, tennis courts, golf courses, beaches and indoor sports halls across metropolitan Sydney.

The Games Budget
Games expenditure is currently estimated at AUD 18.9 million (2004/05 dollars). The New South Wales Government has committed support funding of AUD 8.5 million over the period 2004/05 to 2009/10. The remaining revenue comprises income from registration fees, commercial revenue (sponsorship, merchandising, licensing, etc.), Commonwealth Government assistance and miscellaneous revenue.

2005 Edmonton World Masters Games Delegation
Sydney 2009 World Masters Games organisers will be sending a delegation to Edmonton for the Games. The delegation will observe various elements of the Edmonton Games including Edmonton's event operations and initiatives to maximize the tourism benefits from the Games. It will also introduce Sydney as the next Host City by promoting its Sydney 2009 website. Those visiting include:

+ Bob Adby (Director-General, New South Wales Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation)
+ Margy Osmond (Chair, Sydney 2009 World Masters Games Steering Committee)
+ Kevin Simmonds ( Project Director, New South Wales Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation)
+ Steve Keogh (Project Manager, Sydney 2009 World Masters Games)
+ Caroline Davy (Project Officer, Sydney 2009 World Masters Games)